We Need a Better NAFTA

The new NAFTA is another corporate handout. It won't stem the outsourcing of good jobs or protect the rights of working people. Tell Congress the new NAFTA isn't good enough and to refuse to vote on it.

Members and leaders of the union that represents hotel and hospitality workers gathered Monday evening to discuss the workers’ experiences with sexual harassment by guests and what the union is doing to create safer workplaces for its members.

The meeting of national and local leaders of the AFL-CIO, Chicago Federation of Labor and employees that the union represents — which includes hotel and hospitality workers — came less than a month after an alderman sponsored a loophole into the city’s sexual harassment ordinance that would weaken the legislation.

The Senate will vote on a bill Tuesday that’s being touted by supporters as much-needed regulatory relief for small community banks — a sales pitch that conjures images of tellers greeting longtime customers by name as they kick farm dust off their boots at the door.

The #MeToo movement has challenged our nation to confront pervasive sexual harassment in the workplace. Women of every age, every background and every profession have faced harassment, and for too many perpetrators there has been no accountability. According to a study conducted by the nonprofit Stop Street Harassment, 81% of women (and 43% of men) report experiencing sexual harassment or assault.

The Trump tax cuts aren't tickling everyone's fancy, despite a little more money in your check. State Sen. David Niezgodski (D) and State Rep. Karlee Macer (D) were part of a town hall in Indianapolis, on what they say is the "TrumpTax’s disastrous impact on Indiana’s working families."

The town hall is part of a nationwide tour they say will shed light on the "devastating repercussions of Republican tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires and wealthy corporations at the expense of working families."

A workers’ rights case before the Supreme Court this week could have a dramatic impact on all of our lives. Janus v. AFSCME is a case that is designed to dramatically reduce dues and starve unions that are representing workers at the bargaining table. The Janus case is being pushed by some big corporations and CEOs as part of their well-funded attacks against collective bargaining.

At its recent bi-coastal meeting, the SAG-AFTRA National Board of Directors unanimously approved a Code of Conduct on Sexual Harassment to Advance Equity, which is part of a program to combat harassment and strive toward workplace equity called the Four Pillars of Change, according to an announcement.

“At its most basic, this code will — ultimately — help better define what harassment is and what members’ rights are in those situations,” SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris said in the release.